Light This City confirms break-up

As expected, after canceling their scheduled tours last week, Light This City has officially called it quits. Drummer Ben Murray has issued the following statement:

"I know this is extremely unexpected and disappointing to a lot you out there, but Laura [Nichol] and I have decided to end the band recently because of personal and practical reasons. While this may come as a shock to many, I hope I can shed some light on the reasons behind the decision.

"First and foremost, the touring lifestyle and playing on stage every night, as well as making this band our entire lives and our profession had over time become stale and anxiety-ridden for both of us, and in the end, not enjoyable anymore. We started this band because we loved playing this kind of music and loved the release that we got out of it, and the satisfaction we got from jamming with our friends, and taking it across the country. The fact that it had not been that way for a while was enough reason for us to hang it up and leave the band as 6 years of amazing memories and amazing accomplishments. There are other life goals that both her and I have that we felt would not be reached had we taken the band further, say for another 5 to 10 years, and we didn't want to string our other band members along in something that our hearts weren't in 100%. That's just not who we are, and not how we ever wanted this band to be. Both Laura and I want to get back to the root of why we love playing and writing music, whether it be professionally or not, and not have this burden of feeling alienated from our friends and scene because of what the touring lifestyle does to bands. It is a feeling that we just couldn't handle anymore, and didn't want to deal with on any level, because at the end of the day, music IS our entire lives and we want to keep it that way. We wanted to keep it enjoyable as an amazing catharsis, which it was quickly becoming the opposite. With all of this, on top of the financial and logistical burdens we have come across in touring fulltime, we felt it was the right time to make this announcement. As disappointed as our friends and fans may feel, we hope you understand and respect the reasoning behind this decision, and can understand why we'd make it.

"While many are confused at the timing of this decision, with the release of the new album and all, there is more explanation to be done. The new album will definitely be released within the next 4 months, and it is absolutely amazing! The most important thing to us right now is that all the fans we made be able to buy this album and enjoy it as a last ending high note of this band's career, as we are sure you will love this album like we do. We all feel it is definitely the best Light This City record ever, and Brian, Jon and Ryan absolutely made it something spectacular. We will keep everyone updated on the release of the album, and there will be news about it within the coming weeks, as well as some new tracks online. As for as musical futures, everyone in the band is going to stay involved in music, and I am sure you will hear about everyone's plans in the near future.

"We want to personally thank everyone that has ever helped this band in furthering our career in any way, whether it be booking us, housing us, feeding us, or just supporting us and coming to the shows. All of our friends we have made know who they are, and know how much their love and support has meant to us. Everyone says this, but really, we couldn't have done what we did without all of that support, and we love every one of you because of it. All of the friends we made and experiences shared have made this totally worthwhile, and we don't regret a single part of it. Thanks to everyone, and we will keep you posted on the new album."